FIG. 1 is a block diagram that shows a conventional document production environment 100. A document enters the document production environment manually or electronically at an electronic submission system 105, such as a computing device and/or scanner. Documents may be sorted and batched at the electronic submission system 105.
As illustrated in FIG. 1, the document is received by a workflow system 110, which processes the document before sending the processed document to one or more of the output management systems 115a-115N. The output management system manages an associated print device or print devices 120a-120N. The output management system can assign a particular document to a particular print device based on the print device's availability, the document's print attributes, etc.
With respect to the conventional system of FIG. 1, a print stream including a document to be printed, having Digital Rights Management privileges, is received by an output management system. The Digital Rights Management privileges are conventionally stored in a metadata tag associated with or assigned to the document to be printed.
A metadata tag is information that resides in a file or object that may be outside the file containing the actual document to be printed, or embedded directly within the actual document to be printed.
In the system illustrated in FIG. 1, the workflow system 110 properly conveys the metadata tag associated with or assigned to the document to be printed to the output management system (115a-115N) so that the security parameters or restrictions assigned to the document to be printed can be realized when printing the document; however, the metadata tag is not conveyed to the print devices (120a-120N).
Another example of such a conventional system is illustrated in FIG. 3, wherein a document to be printed and associated metadata tag are initially processed by a document processor 210 and communicated to a workflow system 240.
As illustrated in FIG. 3, a document to be printed and associated metadata tag are initially processed by a document processor 210 and communicated to a workflow system 240. However, the workflow system 240 of FIG. 3 fails to support the conveyance or communication of the document to be printed with the associated metadata tag(s) to the printing system 230.
In this conventional system of FIG. 3, the associated metadata tag(s) are lost so that the security parameters or restrictions assigned to the document to be printed cannot be realized by the printing system 230 when printing the document.
Although a single communication path is illustrated between the workflow system 240 and the printing system 230 in FIG. 3, the associated metadata tag(s) are not communicated to the printing system 230.
By failing to convey the associated metadata tag(s) to the printing system 230, the security, governance, or tracking measures, which may have been associated with a document through the associated metadata tag(s), are prevented from being realized in the downstream process (printing process).
Thus, it is desirable to provide a system or process that recognizes a non-metadata tag preserving workflow system and preserves the information in the metadata tag within the actual print stream of the document to be printed so that an enabled printing system can print the document in accordance with the security, governance, or tracking measures, which may have been associated with the document through the associated metadata tag.
It is further desirable to provide a system or process that recognizes a non-metadata tag preserving workflow system and preserves the information in the metadata tag within the actual print stream of the document to be printed so that a non-enabled printing system can print the document without corruption to the document but not in accordance with the security, governance, or tracking measures, which may have been associated with the document through the associated metadata tag.